Is procrastination a habit or is it an emotional act?
People are constantly postponing what we need to do in this fast flow of life. Sometimes we do it consciously, sometimes we let it flow. So do we get lazy when we procrastinate? Not everyone procrastinates, there are people who have a clear vision of their life and work and are always oriented towards their goals. They do one thing first and when they're done they move on to the next, it's that simple... But for people who normally procrastinate, it's not that simple. When a person procrastinates too much, they begin to feel unproductive, then feelings of sadness and even anxiety come. The longer something takes to get done, the feelings are usually not good at all, but then why do people procrastinate so often when it's not doing them any good? They waste time and when they waste too much they try not to think about it and waste even more time.
Jobs that people procrastinate are often difficult, boring, or unpleasant.
Contrary to popular belief, the reason for procrastination is not laziness. Most of the time, people procrastinate because they don't want to face negative emotions. The main reason for procrastination is that people do not know how to manage their emotions.
Postponing a job actually means postponing the negative emotions that a person will experience while doing that job. Therefore, procrastination gives pleasure. Like any action that gives pleasure, procrastination creates a habit. Once a person experiences the comfort of avoiding negative emotions by procrastinating, they want to repeat it. For this reason, procrastination ceases to be a one-off situation for most people, it becomes a habit.
The worst part is that although a person postpones it in order not to face negative emotions and to feel better, he eventually finds himself in a situation where he feels even worse. Because the habit of procrastination reduces one's self-confidence and respect. As Charlotte Lieberman said, in the long run, this habit not only makes people unproductive, but also destroys their psychology.
Most people favor now when they compare "now" with "later". He wants to rest now, have fun now, enjoy now, and take care of the "later" when the time comes. While doing this, of course, by inventing logical reasons, he convinces himself of the rightness of procrastination.
As Hershfield's research shows, when one closes one's eyes and imagines himself in the future, he perceives himself as an outsider. He thinks as if someone else will be responsible for the things he has not done today, not himself. He feels that the things he postpones today will be someone else's problem, not his own.
When under stress, the human brain has a tendency to perceive troublesome, difficult, unpleasant tasks as a threat to itself and to fend off these threats. When thinking rationally, a person's emotional brain directs him to the pleasure he will get now, even if he knows that postponing today's work for later will be more harmful to him in the future.
The root cause of procrastination is emotional. For this reason, people should learn how to manage their emotions instead of getting time management training to get rid of this habit. (Charlotte Lieberman)
In order for a person to manage his emotions, he must be aware of what he is doing and avoid blaming himself when he postpones a task. In his research, Judson Brewer found that people who admit to procrastinating because they can't cope with negative emotions, but who don't blame themselves for doing so, tend to procrastinate less the next time.
A person who is aware of procrastinating the things he needs to do because he cannot manage his emotions, and who is more understanding and compassionate towards himself, is more likely to get rid of the habit of procrastination.